Learning to Live
by Thegingertardis
Summary: Nyla is a genius. She was accepted into Cornell for engineering physics at only 16 years old... but was kicked out at 19. After a challenging past, she decides to move to small town Leadworth, where she meets the Doctor and travels the universe. She learns how to let go of the past and live for the future, just as she teaches the Doctor to do the same. Possible Doctor/OC in future.
1. Nyla Mason

**So this is the first chapter of my new story. Nyla is American…sorry but I'm American and I'd rather have the story be accurate. Also I think this title is temporary. If anyone could think of a better one I'd be happy to replace this one.**

I do not own Doctor who, only my characters. Although if anyone could sell it to me I'd gladly accept!

**Chapter one:** **Nyla Mason**

* * *

"Nyla…. Nyla! NYLA WAKE UP!"

Nyla bolted out of bed and whipped her head around as if looking for danger. Upon finding none, she groaned and let herself fall back onto the covers. "Ugh. Carrie why do you have to do that? I still have 20 minutes before I have to get up for my Modern Experimental Optics class!"

Carrie looked at her as if she were an idiot, which Nyla knew for a fact was not the case. "Nyla you have 5 minutes," she responded slowly, pronouncing each word like Nyla was five years old again.

"What?" Nyla screeched. "No! I needed time!" She began sprinting around the room trying to find the bottle of vinegar she had prepared yesterday. "Crap. Okay Carrie I have to go." Nyla rushed out of the room, only grabbing vinegar, not even bothering to brush her hair.

"You're welcome!" Carrie called after her. "Jeez wake someone up in time for their last class of their junior year and I don't even get a thank you," she mumbled, clearly annoyed.

Nyla ignored Carrie, not wanting to waste time when she barely had any time for what she needed to get done.

Nyla was about five foot five, with wavy dirty blonde hair. Her embarrassingly pale skin and blue eyes emphasized her hair color. At the moment, Nyla was wearing only her flannel bottoms and oversized t-shirt, with her hair completely tangled up.

Sprinting hurt since she had neglected to put some shoes on, but nevertheless she was able to get to the science building with only two minutes to spare. To her relief the professor had yet to arrive, so she could still follow through with the plan if she could finish what she needed to do in time. Nyla looked around to make sure no one was looking, and then slipped over to the podium to find her professor's microelectromechanical airbag sensor that he had been bragging about, when in actuality, her nanoelectromechanical cantilever was much better. Nyla stared at it for a moment, then painfully took a barrette out of her completely destroyed hair and the bottle of vinegar and got to work.

* * *

"Okay class, take a seat. Today we're going over diffraction grating spectroscopy. So…." Professor Jameson began lecturing in his deep monotone voice and Nyla found herself staring into space. She knew she should be paying attention seeing as this was a major topic on her final exam, but she couldn't wait to see her professor's reaction to his so called "life changing machine."

_He wasn't even the one who invented it! Richard Smally invented it!_ Nyla shook her head trying to focus on the lecture.

Two hours later, the class was finally drawing to a close, to Nyla's relief. "Ok everyone, before I dismiss you all I was able to bring in the new microelectromechanical airbag sensor! I know you probably can't see it from the back of the room because it's micro but if a force like my hand slams into it, it should blow up into a full sized airbag." Without further ado, Professor Jameson slammed his hand into the sensor, and where the airbag should have exploded came instead a large amount of vinegar. The vinegar spilled all over his papers and notebooks, flooding the podium completely.

Every student in the room stared at Professor Jameson in confusion before a few giggles left some of the girl's mouths. The giggles eventually turned into full on laughs and even Nyla was having a hard time not laughing. Eventually she caved and laughed because the look on his face was _priceless_.

After a few moments, Professor Jameson apparently regained his ability to move and speak again because his voice carried loudly over the hall of students, "Everyone stop laughing this instant!" The laughter immediately ceased. He was well known for his tough reputation. "Who. Did. This. Well?"

No one responded.

"Listen. You had to pay a lot of money to get into Cornell. You had to work hard to be able to be here, in your junior year. But that doesn't mean I won't fail every single one of you. This class is mandatory for graduation next year, and if you fail I'll be seeing all of you here again while all the other majors graduate. You can spend an extra $43,000 on another school year if the person who committed this act does not step forward."

As much as Nyla hated nearly every kid at this school, she couldn't let Professor Jameson do that to them. Any other teacher and she would have said they were bluffing, but Professor Jameson? No he was serious. He would do it. And since he was best friends with the headmaster, he wouldn't get in trouble for it.

Nyla groaned and stood up. "It was me. Alright I admit it. But come on! You've been bragging about that stupid machine for the past three weeks! I had to! I mean really didn't anyone else find that annoying?" Nyla looked around at the other students but they all looked away, mostly because they all knew that if they agreed with her they'd be facing the same consequences.

Professor Jameson glared at her, "Headmaster's office. Now."

"Alright, alright." She walked out of the building with Professor Jameson nearly pushing her along. As if the whole thing weren't embarrassing enough, Nyla realized she was still dressed in her pjs! _I feel like I have a gun to my back the way he's pushing me forward, _she thought, beginning to get annoyed when he would tap her back to keep her moving quickly.

When they arrived at the Headmaster's waiting room, Nyla sat down and kicked her feet up on the table. Professor Jameson glared at her, but she ignored him and decided to try and push back the nervous feeling she got in her stomach when the door to the Headmaster's office opened.

"Brian what's the meaning of this?" Headmaster Keller asked, not unkindly.

"_Nyla_ decided to destroy my microelectromechanical airbag sensor using vinegar, which also destroyed all my papers! I spent five years on some of those papers!" Professor Jameson exclaimed.

"What and you don't have backups? What kind of professor doesn't keep backups on papers?" Nyla retorted.

"That's not the point! The point is that you've gotten into more trouble than you're worth! You might be the smartest kid in the class, but that doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want!" Professor Jameson yelled.

"Brian calm down," the Headmaster said coolly. "Nyla will be punished." Turning to Nyla he began, "Nyla you've gotten into amazing amounts of trouble the past few years, and the only reason we haven't let you go is because you bring up the GPA. Even when you were admitted here at 16 years old, you managed to get kicked out of all the dorms but one. I told you a month ago that if you got into trouble again you'd be kicked out. So where does that leave us hm?"

"Headmaster Keller please! I made this great nanoelectromechanical cantilever! I mean it can measure the weight of an individual atom! Please don't kick me out. I only have one year left." Nyla pleaded.

"One year left to destroy the college's reputation?" Professor Jameson remarked sarcastically.

The Headmaster nodded in agreement. "Honestly Nyla, I don't care what you've built any more. Professor Jameson was right. You're more trouble than you're worth. Because of that, you will no longer be attending Cornell. I want all of your items packed and out of the dorm by 6pm tonight. This is actually generous because I'm not making you pay back the money we gave you on scholarships."

"But-" Nyla started.

"But keep arguing and I might. Now leave," Headmaster Keller said calmly.

Nyla sighed and left the office. On the way out she managed to kick Professor Jameson's leg pretty hard, knocking the smirk right off his face.

_Okay, _Nyla thought, feeling a bit numb as she realized where she would have to go back to. _Right pack everything up._

Nyla headed back to the dorms and packed everything into boxes that Carrie had been able to find for her. Carrie was just as eager for Nyla to be gone as Professor Jameson was. Pausing to think about it, Nyla realized that there probably weren't a lot of people that would actually miss her. She had been a bit of an ass to everyone on campus, and since she was younger and smarter than everyone else, the only reason anyone usually talked to her was to see if she could do their homework. With a shrug Nyla resumed packing. It didn't really bother her too much. Her entire life had been like that, but she wasn't looking for pity. They were the facts, and Nyla had learned to live with them long ago.

When Nyla finished she nodded goodbye to Carrie and went back to her foster home in New York City.

* * *

_Mmm smell that polluted New York City air, _Nyla thought with a grin.

As soon as she stepped off the bus, cameras flashed in her face, blinding her.

"Is it true you got expelled from Cornell?"

"What exactly happened?"

"Did you have an accomplice?"

Nyla pushed through the throng of reporters, a little creeped out that this meant so much to people. Nyla stepped into the foster home and slammed the door shut, sighing in a mixture of relief and disappointment. Relief because she didn't have to see those stupid reporters any more, no matter how temporary, disappointment because she swore to herself when she left this place that she was never going to come back. The old building held too many painful memories.

* * *

Days later and the reporters _still_ didn't go away.

_Jeez why do people want to know about this so badly?_ She thought exasperatedly. _This building is driving me nuts and the reporters make it impossible to get out side. I need to get away._ With that thought in mind, Nyla walked to the bank down the road and withdrew all of her savings, or at least the savings she had left. She bought a one way ticket for England and two days later she was in a brand new country.

Nyla took a taxi from Gloucester Airport, telling the driver to drop her off at the smallest town in the area. She didn't have any luggage, she had decided to leave everything in America and start fresh. After a drive that felt like forever to Nyla but in reality was only a half hour, Nyla walked down the silent road. There were a few people milling about, but true to what she asked the taxi driver for, Leadworth was a _very_ small town.

She was just about to go into the library and apply for a job when a man dressed in scrubs biked right into her back. She fell to the ground, but thankfully was able to get her arms out in time to stop herself from landing on her head.

"Ugh even in a small village I manage to get hurt," Nyla muttered to herself with a groan.

"Oh are you alright?" The man tried to help her up, but she waved him off.

"Just peachy," she snapped, rolling her eyes, "because you know after I get hit by a bike I feel a million times better."

"I'm sorry… You're not a very happy one are you?"

Nyla looked the man up and down, "Sorry I'm not in a very happy mood as of late." The man was kind of short, with flat brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in scrubs and had a light grey jacket on. The man looked a little awkward just standing there though. It was as if he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"It's fine… You aren't from here though. I know everyone in Leadworth. Plus you have an American accent." This time it was the man's turn to scrutinize her. He noticed that the tactless woman was young, no more than maybe 20 years old. She had dirty blond hair and blue eyes, and was dressed in a navy blue three-quarter sleeve shirt, with black leggings and flat black knee-high suede boots. As Nyla began talking again he moved his attention back to what she was saying.

"Yeah I just moved," Nyla shook her head. "I had some issues back in the US so I moved here."

"Don't most Americans go to London to see the sights or something?"

"Yeah well, didn't want the big city. Asked the taxi driver to give me a lift to the smallest town he knew and here I am."

The nurse stuck out his hand awkwardly, "Well I'm Rory Williams. I'm a nurse down at the hospital…" He looked down at himself then back at her, "although I guess you might have figured that bit out."

Nyla nodded and shook his hand. "My name's Nyla Mason. I used to go to Cornell but- I had some issues there. Before you biked into me, I was gonna go into the library to try and get a job, and then hopefully find a place to stay. You wouldn't happen to know a place nearby would you?"

Rory thought for a moment and shook his head. "There's no tourist season or anything in Leadworth, which means there's also no hotels. My girlfriend- I mean friend- Well…. Yeah…she has a nearly empty house and could use the money."

"Alright let's go find this girlfriend-friend of yours."

Nyla dragged Rory down the road towards where she figured the house was when Rory called out, "Yeah um we're going the wrong way."

Nyla abruptly turned in the opposite direction dragging Rory by his hood down the street.


	2. Life on the Other Side

**So this is really more of a filler chapter, but don't worry! The Doctor does come in soon I promise. But I felt the need to elaborate with Nyla's life in Leadworth. **

**Also remember: I could really use some ideas for a new title if anyone has something.**

**I don't own doctor who and blah blah blah. **

**Chapter Two: Life on the Other Side**

* * *

Nyla grinned as she flopped down on her new bed. She and Amy had made a deal that she could use the room, the kitchen, and the bathroom for 200€ a month. Nyla wasn't exactly sure how the euro system worked, _but_ she was pretty sure she got a good deal.

The room was painted lavender, with a small twin bed and white dressers lining the walls. With hardwood flooring, the room was beautiful. It wasn't exactly her style, but she liked it nonetheless.

Soon after Nyla had settled in, Amy walked into the room, pausing to knock at the white door. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Nyla patted the bedding next to her and Amy nodded and sat down.

"Listen Nyla I just want to put up some rules before you're here officially. First off: Rory is sort of my boyfriend. I don't know things are weird at the moment but I don't want you with him got it? Second: please, please, please, do not bring home boys because that is just way to awkward. And third: stay out of my room." Amy ticked off the rules on her fingures.

Nyla looked up for a moment in thought then replied, "First: Sure but seriously figure it out. Rory had no idea how to tell me who you were. Second:…" Nyla burst out laughing. "Amy if there's one thing you need to know about me is that I like to be by myself. More of a bookworm-genius type than party-all-night. _However,_ you probably bring Rory here a lot. And listen I don't care what you do but don't let me hear anything."

Amy blushed and shook her head. "Rory and I aren't like that. I'm pretty sure he's gay."

"You are so oblivious. Rory really likes you. As in: more than friends. I think you should make a move."

Amy sighed. "I would but-"

"But nothing," Nyla interrupted. "The way I see it, in a town like this anyway, you have two options. You could one: tell Rory how you feel, or two: live alone for another ten years."

Amy chuckled but slowly nodded her head. "Alright I guess you're right." Amy face changed suddenly, like she just remembered something. "Wait a minute! I barely know you! Why am I asking you for relationship advice?"

Nyla shrugged. "You didn't really ask me, more like I forced my opinion on you. Happens often. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to catch up on my course work. I may have gotten kicked out of college, but I still remember the topics in the curriculum." Nyla nearly pushed Amy out the room and closed the door behind her. Amy was about to walk away when Nyla popped her head out the doorway, "Oh and I'll pay you at the end of this month because I just the job." Without waiting for a reply she closed the door again.

Amy shook her head. _This is new,_ she thought, _never lived with someone like Nyla before._

* * *

_Two Weeks Later…._

Nyla headed down into the kitchen to grab a bagel and some coffee before heading off to work as the only librarian in town. Amy and Rory have been pressuring her to drink tea in the morning but she refused. It just didn't have the kick she was looking for.

Nyla leaned against the counter as she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. Her job as the only librarian was alright. Pretty good pay, but she had issues actually keeping the job. Whenever someone comes in she gets a bit short with them….

_Nyla sat at the front desk in the library, reading her Physics 470 textbook with her feet kicked up drinking a smoothie. Some man walked in, looking like he should be in prison than in a library. Well at least that's what Nyla thought. So that's exactly what she said. _

"_Are you sure you're in the right building? The prison is another 20 minutes away from here." _

_The man glared at her and eventually reported her to her supervisor who she had never met before in her life. She was told that to keep the job she actually had to keep her mouth shut and lie if she had to._

Nyla snapped out of the flashback. _It was so stupid! _Nyla thought_ People want you to be honest but- woah! Get too honest with them and you're rude._ Nyla rolled her eyes before grabbing her coffee and heading to the table to eat her bagel.

As she sat down, another woman that she had never seen before walked in. The woman was dark skinned and dark haired sporting a tank top, ripped jeans, and a leather jacket. Her hair was made into many small braids as well. The new woman walked in as if she owned the place, but stopped suddenly when she saw Nyla.

"And who are you supposed to be?" The girl asked skeptically.

Nyla raised her eyebrows but replied despite herself. "My name's Nyla. Just moved here. I'm paying rent to Amy for one of the bedrooms upstairs. Who are _you?"_

"My name's Melody, but everyone calls me Mels. Are Amy and Rory around? I need them to bail me out."

"Amy ran out to get food and Rory is down at the hospital. What do you need to be bailed out for?" Nyla questioned, curious.

"I was away in France, and I may or may not have done some illegal stuff. Either way I needed a ride back here so I stole a plane, managed to convince the shocked pilot to fly me here, and now I need someone to bail me out because the police are going to be here in exactly two minutes." Mels looked down at her watch. "Yeah two minutes."

"As much as I want to help you, because that was brilliant, I can't. I only have about 50€ to my name." Nyla grinned at her, "but like I said before. That was brilliant! How much trouble do you think we'd get into for driving a bus through the Botanical Gardens?"

Mels laughed. "We'll have to find out sometime after I get out. I like the way you think Nyla," she paused and listened to the sirens that started to sound right outside the house. "Hey make sure you tell Amy where I am alright? I don't want to be stuck there for a week like last time."

At Nyla's nod, Mels walked out of the house to where the police were waiting. Nyla vaguely heard Mels say to one of the police, "Ah you, me, handcuffs. Must it always end this way?"

Nyla stared in disbelief at the doorway. When the police finally left she sent Amy a text and headed to work. _That was by far the strangest thing to happen to me since I moved here._

* * *

After three months of miraculously keeping her librarian job, she had enough money to get an actual apartment down the road. As much as she loved Amy and Rory, she needed space to put her books and study. Plus Amy and Rory still hadn't figured out their relationship status, and Nyla wanted to give them some room so they could make a decision.

When she had finished packing her books and some clothes that she had bought the past few months, she headed downstairs to thank Amy and Rory for being so generous.

Amy grinned. "I was doing it more for the money but if you wanna call it generosity go ahead."

Nyla chuckled but then went over at gave an awkward hug to Rory. "Thanks for finding this place for me. Also since I'm moving out and won't have to hear about this for the time being anyway…." Nyla paused then nearly shouted, "Make a move already Williams!" She rushed out the door after the words left her mouth, knowing Amy would be beyond pissed at her for doing that. "Oh and tell Mels to keep away from my apartment! I don't want to wake up to ruble." Nyla called back.

When she finally arrived at her apartment she set down her suitcase and began unpacking. It took all of ten minutes to put everything away in the dark mahogany dressers.

The apartment was nice, with crème walls and dark hardwood flooring. The dressers in her room matched the floor and the bed, but the sheets were plain white. The small living room had a white couch and a glass table with a small tv sitting beyond it. In the kitchen, there were grey quartz counter tops, with black cabinets, and an island. Nyla wished she could do some work on the kitchen. The colors were dreary and didn't match the rest of the apartment at all.

All in all however, Nyla loved it. It was a space to call her own. She could pile her books all over the apartment, have her tools spread out over the floor, and have blueprints for new inventions lining the walls, and no one would complain. So that's exactly what she did.

* * *

_Four Weeks Later…_

Nyla shook her head. It didn't feel at all like 4 months had passed since she got hit by a bike. In the last month that she had been living in her apartment she had moved on to new topics in her physics curriculum, and was promoted as senior librarian. Nyla didn't really get the point, as she was still the _only_ librarian in town.

Nyla was creating new blueprints for a machine that would measure amount of atoms in a centimeter when her landline started ringing. Nyla groaned but nonetheless picked it up. She had _just _gotten to using magnetic resonance and spin echoing!

"Hello?"

"Hey Nyla it's Rory. I need to talk to you."

"Well I mean I assumed that seeing as you called me." Nyla responded, rolling her eyes even though Rory couldn't see it. "What do you need?"

"I just got sent away from the Hospital because Doctor Ramsden doesn't believe what I was saying about Coma patients."

"… Rory I have no idea what you were saying about the Coma patients. You kind of need to elaborate."

"Right. Yes sorry. There are patients in the hospital in a coma, which means they can't be out and walking around, but this morning I saw one of them walking around the village! It's true I swear I have pictures and everything!" Rory sounded desperate for someone to believe him.

Nyla sighed but decided that her project was going to have to wait a bit. "Alright meet me in the park in ten minutes and I'll look at the pictures." She needed time to look decent and clean up the blueprints littering the floor.

"Thanks Nyla. See you then." Rory hung up.

Nyla grabbed her keys and walked out of her flat, unknowingly walking towards where her life would begin.


	3. The Eleventh Hour

**Okay guys so this is where we start the Eleventh Hour for Nyla. Don't worry though, I have made some changes so it won't be completely canon and boring. This one is fairly short... but the next few chapters are monsters so I think that makes up for it.**

**Still looking for title ideas!**

**Standard Disclaimer goes here**

**Chapter Three: The Eleventh Hour**

* * *

Nyla and Rory stood in the park looking at Rory's cell phone to see the pictures of the coma patients walking around. Nyla's brow furrowed in concentration, her mind racing through any reasonable possibilities for this but found none.

"So let me get this straight. There are patients in a coma in the hospital, but they're also walking around out here. Simultaneously?" Nyla looked to Rory for confirmation. When he nodded she continued, "Well then logic says that one of them is an imposter. Has to be. There can't be one person in two different places at one time. That defies the laws of physics."

"That actually does make sense…" Rory said slowly connecting the dots. "But why would someone impersonate coma patients? Plus the imposter has a _perfect_ disguise. It's an exact copy of the coma patient. Is that even possible?"

"Well it could be someone who's trying to-" Nyla cut her sentence off, staring up at the now orange sky. Nyla tried to show Rory but he shook his head and pointed at a man with a dog staring at them.

Rory pulled his phone up and took a picture of him whispering to Nyla, "He's one of the patients."

Nyla mulled over the man and dog standing at the other side of the park. "So I gathered." Nyla slowly walked towards him, and murmured, "Who are you…?" She was only ten feet away now when a pair of arms grabbed her and yanked her back to where Rory was. Nyla tensed and without looking back growled, "Touch me again and there will be consequences."

Nyla spun around and looked at the man who grabbed her. She had been expecting a stranger. Rory was strong, but not strong enough to pull her back like that. The man looked like a child really the way his hair flopped. His clothes were torn and ruined, and he seemed like he couldn't stop moving.

The man ignored her threat, "Don't take a step closer to him." Turning to Rory, "The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?"

Nyla noticed that Amy had run up behind the strange man, wearing her policewoman kissogram outfit. Rory looked at Amy questioningly, but Nyla wasn't sure if he was confused on why she was in her kissogram outfit, or about who the weird guy was.

"Oh right! This is Rory, my boyfriend," Nyla grinned at that. They had FINALLY gotten together thank god. Amy continued talking, choosing to ignore Nyla's grin. "And this is Nyla, my friend from America."

The man nodded at them before turning back to Rory. "Man and dog. Why?"

Rory seemed in shock though, as if something had clicked, although Nyla had no idea what. "Oh my God, it's him."

Amy groaned, "Just answer the question please!"

Seeing as Rory wasn't going to answer any time soon Nyla interrupted. "He was taking a picture of the man and dog because he can't be there, because he's in hospital, in a coma." Nyla and the weird man finished the sentence together.

Rory and Amy finished their short conversation about whoever that man was when the man with a dog barked at them.

"Knew it. Multiform see? Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a life feed. A psychic link with a living but dormant mind." The man explained. "That's Prisoner Zero." He nodded at the man and dog.

"Who _are_ you?" Nyla asked. Even _she _couldn't have figured that out. Granted it didn't even sound human but still.

"The Doctor," the man answered without thought. "See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology. And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver." The Doctor raised the screwdriver and blew up the surrounding street lights and car alarms.

Nyla grinned. "I need to make one of those."

"I think someone's going to notice don't you?" The Doctor ignored her in favor of talking to Prisoner Zero as he tried to blow up a red telephone box. Before he could however the screwdriver exploded. "No, no! No, don't do that!" He started hitting the screwdriver but finally gave up when Rory told him that the multiform had disappeared down a drain.

Amy looked at the Doctor, "what do we do now?"

"It's hiding in human form so we need to drive it into the open. NoTardis, no screwdriver, seventeen minutes. Come on… think. Think!" He started hitting his head but Amy grabbed his hand before he could repeat the action.

"So that thing, it hid in my house for 12 years?" Amy asked skeptically, releasing his arm when she was sure he wasn't going to hit himself again.

"…That means I lived in the room right next to it for 3 months." Nyla shuddered.

"Mulitforms can live for millennia. 12 years is a pit-stop." The Doctor explained.

"So how come you show up again on the same day that lot do? Same minute!" Amy accused.

The Doctor shook his head looking distracted. "They're looking for him, but they followed me. They saw me through the crack. They're only late because I am."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Nyla looked at him like he was nuts.

The Doctor ignored her once again to talk to Rory. Nyla was starting to get fed up with it, but she bit her tongue. "Nurse boy, give me your phone."

Rory looked at Amy confused, "How can he be real? He was never real."

The Doctor snatched the phone out of Rory's hands before he could argue and began flicking through images.

Rory continued as if the Doctor never took his phone, "He was just a game. We were kids! You made me dress up as him." Rory exclaimed. Nyla looked at them oddly.

_How do they know the Doctor? And why wouldn't they mention it to me? _Nyla wondered. She had thought she was pretty close with them. She never had any real friends, but they seemed pretty close.

"These photos, they're all coma patients?" The Doctor asked Rory.

"Yes," he replied at the same moment that Nyla said "No"

Everyone turned to look at Nyla in confusion, except for the Doctor. Nyla stared at them as if they were idiots, which in Nyla's mind, they were. "No, they're all the multiform. Eight comas, eight disguises."

"He had a dog though," Amy pointed out. "There's a dog in a coma?"

"Well, the coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog. Laptop!" The Doctor said randomly. "Your friend what was his name? Not him," the Doctor nodded at Rory, "the good-looking one."

Rory glared at him. "Thanks."

"Jeff," Amy supplied.

Nyla smirked as Rory replied sarcastically, "Oh, thanks."

"He had a laptop in his bag. A laptop. Big bag, big laptop," the Doctor rambled on, "I need Jeff's laptop. You two, get to the hospital," He pointed at Amy and Rory, "Get everyone out of that ward, clear the whole floor. Phone Nyla when you're done."

Nyla looked at him confusion. "Two things wrong with that plan. One: I don't have a cell phone. It blew up. Two: What am I doing in all this, playing secretary?"

The Doctor shook his head, "You're coming with me to Jeff's house for his laptop. You can use Rory's phone see." He tossed the phone to Nyla who caught it easily.

"Alright," she allowed, "let's go." Nyla and the Doctor walked towards Jeff's house while Amy and Rory went into Rory's car.

* * *

Nyla and the Doctor strode into Jeff's bedroom, Nyla not even bothering to ask for the laptop as she ripped it out of his hands. As she looked at the laptop she blushed and pushed it to the Doctor. "Jeff seriously? I'm scarred."

The doctor looked at the screen and quickly fixed it so nothing was on it anymore. "Blimey. Get a girlfriend."

Nyla recognized Mrs. Angelo as she entered the room. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"The Sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big old video conference call. All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need?"

Everyone looked at the Doctor blankly for a moment when Nyla chose to reply, "Me." She snatched the laptop out of his hands and began typing to hack into the conference call. "And here they all are," Nyla said with a grin, glancing around the room at everyone's surprised faces.

Nyla swore she heard the Doctor mutter about how he wanted to do that, but she ignored him in favor of talking to the experts. "NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Centre, and of course Patrick Moore."

"I like Patrick Moore," Mrs. Angelo said with a dreamy look on her face.

"I'll get you his number," the Doctor responded as he made a grab at the laptop. Nyla saw it coming however, and lifted the laptop so he ended up grabbing at air.

"You can't just hack in on a call like that," Jeff stared at Nyla. He had seen her around but he didn't know she was that smart!

"Who says I can't?" Nyla rolled her eyes.

Patrick Moore started talking and they all turned to look at the people on screen. "Who are you?"

"This is a secure call, what are you doing here?" Another man questioned.

This time when the Doctor made a grab at the laptop, Nyla was too preoccupied listening to the experts to properly keep it out of the Doctor's reach, and he snagged it easily.

"Hello. Yeah I know you should switch me off, but before you do watch this," He began typing furiously. "Fermat's Theorem, the proof. And I mean the real one. Never been seen before." Nyla's eyes widened. "Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down. My fault. I slept in. Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie. Why electrons have mass."

Nyla shook her head. She had just been working on figuring that one out last week. She was sure she nearly had it, and looking at the Doctor's theorem, she was pretty sure she was right. "I knew that one," she muttered, surprised when the Doctor heard her and turned to look at her in confusion. She shook her head and he went back to talking.

"Look at your screens. Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention." The Doctor immediately started typing on the phone at a speed that would put Amy to shame.

NASA piped up suddenly, "Sir, what are you doing?"

The Doctor didn't even look up at the computer. "I'm writing a computer virus. Very clever, super fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on. And why am I writing it on a phone? Never mind, you'll find out. Okay, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish, whatever you've got."

"Oh try putting it on Tumblr too. You'd be surprised what gets around on there." Nyla added.

"Sure that too," the Doctor allowed. "Any questions?"

"Who was your lady friend?" Patrick asked slyly.

"Behave," the Doctor said sternly. "The virus is a reset command, it resets counters. It gets in the wifi and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time. But yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain…" When Jeff didn't say anything he closed the laptop slightly, "Jeff you're my best man."

"Why me? Wouldn't Nyla be a better fit?" Jeff all but begged.

Nyla nodded. "I could convince them all easily and patch the virus through to all the social media websites myself."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment before refusing. He had the weirdest feeling that she should go with him. An instinct. And God knows he always listens to his instinct. "No, I need you with me. You can do this Jeff. Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're going to be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is going to be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. This is it, Jeff, right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world."

The Doctor finished his speech and ran out with Nyla following behind. She paused at the doorway and turned back to Jeff, "Oh and delete your internet history. That's disgusting."


	4. The Unknown History

**To: **ussenterprisee** I'm glad you like the story! It ****really means a lot!**

**To: **Catalysand** Nyla is a really interesting character to write. I can be funny and sarcastic, but still emotional with her. It's a lot of fun. I'm glad you like thstringy!**

**So how do you guys like Nyla? Opinions? I want some reviews guys! Anything would be great, and helpful criticism would be awesome. As long as you're nice about it, I'll listen. **

**Anyway, if there are any title ideas out there that'd be great.**

**Also this chapter turned out to be longer than I expected.**

**[Insert Doctor Who Disclaimer Here]**

**Chapter Four: The Unknown History**

* * *

Nyla and the Doctor climbed into a fire truck that the Doctor had sprinted to, claiming, "I've always wanted to drive one of these!" And seeing as there weren't many other cars around, Nyla couldn't really argue. She decided to get some answers from the Doctor on the drive to the hospital. She had to talk quickly though, because it only took 5 minutes to get there.

"So why was Rory so surprised to see you?"

The Doctor shrugged, "No idea. Never met him before."

Nyla looked at him skeptically, "So you're telling me you know why electrons have mass, but you don't know why a man who never met you before, and is also dating a girl, who seems to know you, was surprised to see you?"

"Maybe I'm just bad with people."

Nyla rolled her eyes, but moved on nonetheless. "So who are you? I know you said the Doctor, but how _did_ you know how electrons have mass, and Fermat's theorem?"

He looked over at her and sighed. He had known that she would probably have questions, but that didn't mean he wanted to answer them. "I'm clever. I read a lot of books."

Nyla gave a glare that made even the Oncoming Storm scared. And he was barely looking at her! "Stop patronizing me. You had to have learned that somehow. You can't just read that stuff in books."

The Doctor relented, knowing that she wouldn't give up the questioning. "Fine. I'm-"

Nyla wanted to strangle someone when Rory's phone started ringing. She dug around in the Doctor's pockets, making him jump in surprise, before finding it and flipping it open. "Hello?"

"Nyla?" Amy's voice came through the receiver.

"No it's that lady from Budgens with the crazy Jack Russell." Nyla bit out sarcastically, still pissed about being interrupted when she would have _finally_ gotten an answer from the Doctor.

The man in question raised his eyebrows at her tone and her words, but didn't say anything.

"Well then," Amy replied affronted. "Look we're at the hospital, but we can't get through."

Nyla shook her head, trying not to insult Amy anymore than she already had. "Look in the mirror."

"Ha ha!" Amy cheered. "Are you on your way? You're going to need a car."

"We have a car. Sort of. More like a large truck."

"Great," Amy hung up and raced up to the coma ward with Rory on her heels.

Back in the fire engine, Nyla asked the Doctor again, "Who are you?"

"I'm an a time traveler from-" He tried to continue but the phone rang _again_, and Nyla actually contemplated throwing it out the window. Seeing how annoyed Nyla was, and how prone she was to insulting Amy, the Doctor took the phone from her hand and answered it himself. "Are you in?"

"Yep," Amy replied, relieved that Nyla hadn't answered. That woman was terrifying when she wanted to be. "But so's Prisoner Zero."

The Doctor's face transformed into worry. "You need to get out of there." There was no answer except for some muffled sounds that were too distant from the phone to be heard properly. He did however hear Rory's yell of "Oh, my God!"

"Amy? Amy, what's happening?" Again there was no response, just some distant clattering and thumping. "Amy talk to me!"

Amy finally held the phone back to her face. "We're in the coma ward, but it's here. It's getting in."

The Doctor didn't respond, but chose to toss the phone to Nyla, seeing as she calmed down and he really needed to focus on getting to the hospital. "Ask her which window they're in."

Nyla nodded and held the phone back to her face. "Which window are you?"

Amy spun around to look at the windows as she backed up. "Um… First floor, on the left, fourth from the end."

Nyla repeated the directions to the Doctor before hanging up.

"Text Amy and tell her to duck!" The Doctor ordered.

Seeing what he was going to do, Nyla quickly texted Amy, then got out of her seat and started climbing the ladder while the truck was still moving. It crashed into the window and a second later she was in the hospital, the Doctor right behind her.

"Right! Hello. Am I late?" The Doctor glanced at the clock on the wall. "No, three minutes to go. So still time."

The woman and her child standing in the middle of the ward spoke, "Time for what, Time Lord?"

_So that's his species, _Nyla thought. _A bit arrogant, and that's coming from _me_. Would explain the whole time-traveler deal however._

"Take the disguise off. They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies," The Doctor tried coaxing Prisoner Zero.

The mother figure of Prisoner Zero's disguise spoke, "The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire."

"Okay. You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again. Just leave." Nyla could tell the Doctor was getting desperate to let Prisoner Zero leave.

"I did not open the crack."

The Doctor looked at Prisoner Zero disbelievingly. "Well somebody did."

The mother looked at him like _he_ was the one in two different bodies speaking out of turn. "The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from? You don't, do you?" Prisoner Zero smirked and changed to the little girl's voice, but stayed in the mother's body. "The Doctor and Nyla in the Tardis don't know. Don't know. Don't know!" She mocked them and Nyla was getting fed up.

Nyla stepped forward angrily. "Hey listen you! If I ever hear that chanting again, I will personally rip your tongues out. I don't care if you're in the shape of a child or in the shape of a freaking grandma. Now shut up!" The doctor hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her back. Nyla took a deep breath and decided to get to the bottom of the crack. "What was the crack from?"

Prisoner Zero looked a bit cautious when it answered, and Nyla had to resist the urge to grin. Good to know she could still keep strangers in their place. "The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall."

"And we're off! Look at that!" The Doctor cried happily, trying not to think about Prisoner Zero's words. Everyone looked at the clock that he had been pointing at. It read 0:00. "Yeah, I know, just a clock. Whatever. But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team is working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast. The word is out. And do you know what the word is?" Without waiting for an answer, or at the very least a guess, he continued, "The word is Zero. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd probably take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able track a simple old computer virus to its source in, what, under a minute? The source, by the way, is right here." He waved the phone in the air as a bright light appeared through the window. "Oh! And I think they just found us!"

"The Atraxi are limited. While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me." Prisoner Zero replied dubiously.

Nyla spoke up this time, deciding she was confident enough in this part of his plan. "Yeah but this is the best part! Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you. Every form you've learned to take, right here. And they're all being uploaded right now! Thank you Rory!" She cheered, flashing Rory a smile.

Rory was stunned that her mood had changed so quickly and gave her a small smile, feeling that it would be a little inappropriate to laugh at her at the moment.

"And the final score is, no Tardis, no screwdriver, two minutes to spare. Who da man?" The Doctor held up his arms waiting for an answer.

Nyla groaned and face palmed, while Amy and Rory just shook their heads.

"Oh, I'm never saying that again. Fine," he huffed.

"Then I shall take a new form," Prisoner Zero said.

"Oh stop it. You know you can't. It takes months to form that kind of psychic link," the Doctor waved her off.

"And I've had years," Prisoner Zero replied smugly. Amy collapsed, but Rory caught her and laid her down to prevent her from getting hurt. Nyla went to go help Amy, but hesitated as her head started throbbing terribly.

"Amy!" Rory yelled.

Nyla pushed past the pain and strode over to her. "Amy? You've got to hold on. Amy? Wake up! Come on, you're my best friend! You rented me that apartment and made me promise not to take home any boys, even though the very idea was ridiculous! You can't give up now! Wake up! AMY!" Nyla yelled, shaking her.

"Nyla…" Rory and Nyla both looked up at the Doctor who was staring at Prisoner Zero. Well actually, they were staring at another Nyla and Amy.

Nyla's brow furrowed in confusion. _Why is it copying me? It's linked with her right?_ Another wave of pain wracked her brain and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

As if sensing her earlier thoughts the Doctor asked the same thing, "You're linked with Amy. Why are you copying Nyla?"

The fake Amy shook her head. "I'm linked with both of them. Nyla was living in the house long enough that it was almost pathetically easy to form the connection."

_My dad would kill me if he were alive, _Nyla thought bitterly. _He always taught me not to talk with strangers, let alone live with them._

The fake Nyla spoke next. "Poor, Poor, Nyla. All her hopes and dreams crushed because she just couldn't keep to herself. When will you learn?" The fake Nyla glared at the real Nyla, and she could see why everyone backed down from her intense stare. "No one likes you; no one wants to be with you. Everyone at Cornell proved that quite well, but you just didn't learn. Even your parents needed time away from you, and now they're dead!" Nyla started to tremble a little, and try as she might; the fake Nyla's words affected her. She had been trying to tell herself that none of it was true, but now that she looked back it was obvious.

As terrible as the Doctor felt about the words being spoken to her, he knew there was nothing he could do. As far as he could tell, she didn't trust him very much. Plus, he didn't know her very well so anything he said could just make it worse.

Rory put a hand on her shoulder, sensing her distress. "I like you," he said quietly.

Nyla gave him a small- if somewhat fake- smile, when Prisoner Zero's Amy started talking. "And poor Amelia Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been."

The Doctor paused for a moment in thought, trying to push the guilt to the back of his mind. "No, she's dreaming about me because she's thinking of me. You knew what to say to Nyla because those were her thoughts. That means that Amy has to be thinking about me. Amy, don't just think about me, listen. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see. Remember you went inside. I tried to stop you, but you did. You went in the room. You went inside. Amy, dream about what you saw. "

Prisoner Zero's form began to flicker until it transformed into a slimy centipede-ish alien. "No. No. No!" It cried out as the Doctor grinned.

"Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself."

A computer sounding voice echoed through the ward, "Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained."

As Prisoner Zero thrashed in its cage, it spoke one last time before leaving, "Silence, Doctor, Nyla. Silence will fall."

Nyla stared at the spot that Prisoner Zero had been standing in confusion. It kept saying Doctor and Nyla. Why did it keep saying her? She was obviously important somehow, seeing as it didn't mention Amy or Rory. And what the heck is a Tardis that it mentioned before?

Rory breathed a sigh of relief as he looked out the window. "The sun. It's back to normal right? That's, that's good, yeah? That means it's over."

Amy began to wake up and Rory rushed over to her. "Amy! Are you okay? Are you with us?"

"Ugh what happened?"

"He did it! The Doctor did it!" Rory grinned.

The Doctor however shook his head. "No, I didn't."

Nyla looked on with apprehension as the Doctor typed on the cell phone. "You're tracking back the signal aren't you?"

"Yep. Sorry in advance."

"For what?" Rory wondered.

"The bill." Rory groaned but didn't say anything as the Doctor spoke with the Atraxi.

"Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article fifty seven of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established level five planet, and you were going to burn it? What? Did you think no one was watching? You lot, back here, now." He hung up the phone and tossed it to Rory. "Okay, now I've done it." He walked down a hallway and disappeared.

"Did he just bring them back? Did he just save the world from aliens and then bring all the aliens back again?" Rory cried in disbelief.

Nyla nodded. "Yep." She was about to walk off when she turned back to Rory. "Thanks," she murmured, then followed the hallway the Doctor had just taken.


	5. The Longest Years

**Thanks for the reviews guys. Judging by your reactions, you like Nyla, but you guys might hate me a little for this chapter. Sorry in advance.**

**Please read and review!**

**WARNING: there is cursing in this chapter if that's something that bothers you**

**My usual Doctor Who disclaimer: I own Nyla not DW**

**Chapter 5: The Longest Years**

* * *

Nyla managed to catch up to the Doctor as he strode down the long corridors. "Where are you going?" Behind her Amy and Rory had run and caught up as well.

"The roof… No, hang on." He ducked into a locker room that the patients used, picking up shirts and pants and jackets as he walked.

"What's in here?" Amy looked around at the lockers and messy clothing laying around.

"I'm saving the world- I need a decent shirt. To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show." The Doctor spun in circles gathering clothing that he deemed 'cool.' Nyla could see some of the clothes in his arms and knew that this was going to be an…_ original_ outfit to put it nicely.

Rory spoke up in disbelief, "You just summoned aliens back to Earth. Actual aliens, deadly aliens, aliens of death, and now you're taking your clothes off. Amy, he's taking his clothes off." Amy nodded and watched as the Doctor began to take his shirt off.

"Turn your back if it embarrasses you. Humans and nudity just don't mix for some reason…" the Doctor continued to strip as Rory turned his back then turned to look at his friends.

"Are you guys not going to turn your back?" Rory looked at Amy pointedly and Nyla could practically see the desperation in Rory's eyes.

Nyla leaned over and whispered in Amy's ear, "You're dating Rory remember. At least act like it."

Amy blushed and nodded, realizing that her behavior wasn't fair to Rory. She quickly turned around and Rory shot a thankful smile at Nyla. Nyla nodded and turned back to watching the Doctor change. Just because Amy was taken didn't mean she was.

The Doctor finally finished changing and had a six or seven ties draped around his neck as they walked onto the roof.

"So this was a good idea was it?" Amy asked dubiously.

Nyla nodded. "Leaving is good. Never coming back is better."

The Doctor agreed, thankful that she was just accepting everything right away. How she was coping he had no idea but he was just glad that he didn't have to deal with another fresh human like Rory. "Come on, then! The Doctor will see you now." As he spoke the words the giant eyeball floated down onto the roof and began scanning the Doctor.

"You are not of this world."

"No, but I've put a lot of work into it." He started picking through his selection of ties as he walked forward with Nyla following him. Turning to her, he held up on of the ties. "Oh, hmm I don't know. What do you think?"

Nyla shrugged and decided to play along. "Looks too boring."

"Is this world important?" The Atraxi asked the Doctor.

Nyla spoke up however, annoyed at the question. "Important? Are you kidding me! Six billion people live here! That's very important."

The Doctor nodded his assent and continued with his speech. "Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi? Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?" A projection of the Earth spread out before them, with all the wars that had been fought in human history compiled together. Nyla winced and hoped that the Atraxi didn't mean threat to _each other._

"No," the eyeball replied.

"Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" The doctor began sorting through all the ties, throwing them back to Rory. He knew that if he threw them, or even passed them, to Nyla, she would just throw them all in his face.

"No," the Atraxi admitted.

"Okay. One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here. Oh, there have been so many." The projection showed some aliens that Nyla recognized from news reports and some from seeing outside her own foster home. As the projection went on, the Doctor decided between the two ties left and began to put the winning tie on.

"And what you've got to ask is, what happened to them?"

The Atraxi projection showed numerous men's faces flashing by, before ending suddenly when the Doctor himself stepped through the projection. He had put on the tweed jacket he had been holding and the bow tie he had selected. Nyla thought he looked ridiculous.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically," the Doctor grinned, "run."

The giant eyeball zoomed back into its ship before departing quicker than was necessary. Nyla turned to the Doctor to ask him why it was so afraid of him when suddenly he was running down the stairs. Nyla sprinted after him, wanting answers to her questions before he ended up inevitably leaving her behind.

"Doctor wait!" Nyla finally caught up to him when he stopped outside a blue police telephone box. She watched as he stroked the side of the box. Nyla contorted her face into one of pretend disgust. "Get a room you two!"

The Doctor jumped. He had been so focused on getting back to the Tardis that he didn't even notice Nyla was following him. "Nyla this is my time machine that I was going to tell you about on the way to the hospital. It's called the Tardis. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space."

She nodded slowly. "Alright. But why were you so eager to leave?"

The Doctor looked away from the Tardis to see her face. He could tell she was trying to hide the hurt, and doing it very well actually, but he could still see the small amount that she couldn't hide in her eyes. Even he couldn't hide his emotions from his eyes.

"She just redid herself. I was excited to see the brand new ship. Still am actually. Don't worry I'll be back soon." He started to step into the Tardis, but Nyla grabbed his tweed covered arm and pulled him back.

"Where are you going?"

"Brand new Tardis. She needs a quick hop to the moon and back to run her in. I'll be back I promise. Five minutes." He started to step in again when she pulled him back out.

She swallowed, trying to build up the courage to say what she wanted. She normally had no issues with it, but what she was going to ask was going to prove a theory to her that she really didn't want proven true. "Can- can I come with you?"

The Doctor shook his head and her heart sank, but she made sure she didn't show it. "She's too unstable. I'll be back I promise. Five minutes alright."

Nyla let him go this time and watched as the ship disappeared before her eyes, trying not to think about what Prisoner Zero had said. _He likes me…right? Wait why am I listening to what some stupid alien said? ...Oh yeah because he pointed out something you I've been trying to bury, s_he thought glumly.

Amy and Rory ran up right behind her towards the end of the dematerialization. Normally she would have been musing how that worked, but she couldn't help but be upset. Prisoner Zero was right. It was all true. Nobody liked her or wanted to be with her. Amy and Rory were nice, but they had each other. She was just the awkward third wheel. The Doctor wouldn't take her along for even a five minute trip, and he was accepting of nearly everyone.

Amy's voice brought her out of her self-depreciating thoughts. "Where did he go?"

Nyla's voice sounded a little hollow, even to her own ears. "He said he was taking a five minute trip to the moon. He'll be back soon."

Amy's eyes widened. "No! Why would you let him do that? He's a terrible driver! Didn't you try to stop him?"

"Of course I did!" Nyla snapped. She wasn't in the mood to talk to Amy right now. She just wanted some hot chocolate and an awesome, but totally scientifically incorrect, superhero movie. "He wouldn't listen! Just said he'd be back in five minutes. How bad can his driving be?"

"Really bad!" Amy started yelling. "I met him when I was seven and he didn't come back for another twelve years! He said five minutes to me then too! Now he's not coming back for us for another twelve years because you didn't have the strength or the knowledge to keep him from leaving!"

Nyla's glare pierced holes into Amy, but the girl didn't seem to back down, still too upset about the Doctor. "Listen ginger. I didn't know your history with him. But whose fault is that? You could have TOLD me what happened! I had been living with you for three months and I've known you for nearly five months now! You'd think that he would have come up somewhere along the line!" Nyla grabbed Amy's police vest that she was _still_ wearing and pulled her to her face. "I don't know what you think but obviously I have the strength to keep him here, but the difference between me and you, is that I won't hold someone against their will." Nyla released Amy's vest and watched as she stumbled backwards.

Amy straightened herself up and shook Rory's hand off her shoulder. She didn't want a reasoning voice, she wanted to be able to take out her anger and annoyance. "Nyla you call yourself a genius but you couldn't figure out I met an alien? I mean I have his stuff all over my room! How could you not have noticed?" Amy gave Nyla her own glare this time. "And I only handcuffed the Doctor because it seemed more believable for the outfit!"

Nyla rolled her eyes and bit back, "Oh because you couldn't just be a normal human being and tell him who you were. No you had to go and make a big deal of it all. You couldn't just tell him that you used to be the little girl he once met, you had to handcuff him! And you know what the worst part about that is?" Nyla leaned in close to Amy to drive her point home. "I didn't even know you restrained him. _I guessed._"

Amy was yanked away from her by Rory, who was trying in vain to make them stop fighting. Amy nearly threw herself out of Rory's grip. She wanted to smack the smirk right off of her arrogant face. When she was finally freed from Rory's grasp she stormed up to Nyla. "You think you're so high and mighty just because you're a genius who refuses to follow the rules, and has no one to enforce them. That's right. When you first moved in I looked up who you are."

Nyla froze and gritted her teeth dreading whatever Amy would say next. At the back of her mind she heard Rory trying to get Amy to stop but nothing worked. Amy just continued on, knowing that she was pulling at all the right- or wrong, depending on your perspective- strings.

"You're a genius, sure. Admitted at Cornell when you were only 16 years old. But you were kicked out only a few months ago weren't you? For causing trouble, for "not being worth it."I believe that was the official comment given to the press from the Headmaster of Cornell. Oh, and let's not forget your parent issues."

Nyla hit her breaking point. She had taken a few steps away from Amy, but any distance lost between the two was regained as Nyla nearly sprinted over to Amy. She ripped Rory out of the way, and frankly, Rory stepped away, knowing that Amy had crossed a line. "You have no right. _No fucking right. _What happened to my parents was- no is- something I will never forget. And yeah I know you have no parents, but you were so young it didn't even matter all that much. I was _ten._ I remember every kiss and hug they gave me. I remember the visits to the playgrounds, and the lessons my father used to give me on safety. I remember the homemade meal my mom would make and the chocolate lab that we had." Nyla eyes teared up, a mixture of sadness, frustration, and rage. She pulled Amy up by her shirt once again, "What do you remember? Getting fed on a highchair? I blame myself each and every day for their deaths, and you think you have the right to flaunt that around in my face?" She threw Amy back at Rory and stormed away.

"Nyla wait!" Amy called trying to get her attention. Once the anger began to dissolve the guilt set in. She already felt terrible about it. She knew she shouldn't have said all of that. She just took all of her frustration out on Nyla and she didn't deserve that. Amy started to follow Nyla, but Rory held her back. Amy was surprised, seeing as she completely forgot that he was there, despite the amount of restraining her had done.

"Just let her go. You really made her angry and I think she needs some time." Rory and Amy walked back into the house, not knowing that Amy wouldn't see Nyla for another two years.

* * *

Two years. That's how long Nyla went without seeing Amy. You would think since it's a small town that Nyla and Amy would have seen each other around and have to talk, but Nyla avoided Amy at all costs. She had gotten particularly good at hiding in parks and small alleyways. She just couldn't face Amy again. It brought back too many memories from that night.

_Nyla stalked back to her apartment, clenching and unclenching her hand. How dare Amy say that, not only about her, but her parents! Nyla flopped onto her bed facing the ceiling, spread out like an eagle. _

_'How could she?' Nyla thought, still glaring at the ceiling. 'She doesn't know what it's like to have to push for something at a young age. Ever since I was ten I've had to fight for what I wanted. I couldn't just get something because it looked cool. I lived in a _foster home._ She at least lived with a family member! I had to get amazing grades to even have a shot at college.' _

_ Nyla sighed, her muscles un-tensing. __When the anger eventually subsided, the hurt finally settled in. __She could feel her lungs burning and the itchy eyes that came with crying. 'Amy was one of my only friends and look how I screwed that up! I mean yeah she said some nasty things but I nearly threw her into the sidewalk! Great friend I am...' There was a logical part of Nyla that told her the her anger had been justified, but that part of her brain was miniscule and hard to even hear. 'No parents. No friends. No school to bury myself in. And of course, no Doctor. I'm so useless.'_

_Nyla tried to break out of her frustrating thoughts but couldn't. They circled around in her head and bounced against the walls of her brain. Every time she would acknowledge one, it felt like a bee sting. She stayed up for hours into the night, tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and lungs burning. She knew that she could cry. There was no one around to see her break down, however it still felt humiliating. So she refused. She bottled it up inside and pushed it down to be _possibly _reopened later. It obviously wasn't healthy, but she didn't care honestly. She wanted someone to comfort her, but she had no one. And that thought nearly broke her resolve not to cry. Fighting hard with a thick throat, she pushed everything to the back of her mind again._

_She still couldn't sleep though, a constant battle with her emotions preventing the relaxing action. She ended up going into her bathroom and taking some Nyquil. Nyla passed out after that, the mental stress of the day and the medicine finally getting to her._

Nyla shook her head free of the mini-flashback. It wasn't that she didn't want to make up with Amy; it was just because she couldn't without nearly bursting into tears. As much as she loved to pretend she was invincible, she wasn't. She hadn't let out her emotions that night, and now she just felt numb. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She just couldn't let it out now. She regretted not crying that night because now it was two years later and she was still a mess.

Surprisingly however, she had gotten an invitation to Amy and Rory's wedding. It was true that she couldn't talk to Amy at all, but she had nothing against Rory. It had actually been Rory that had invited her, and as her only sort-of-friend left in the village, she felt she had to go. She had a beautiful dress picked out that would make her look amazing, but would keep her safely out of the spotlight.

Nyla had decided to go to sleep early because she knew that she was probably going to end up confronting Amy at the wedding. She would need all the energy she had and then some to keep it together. She had just climbed into her bed when her new cell phone started ringing.

Nyla groaned and pulled herself out of bed to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi Nyla." Amy's voice was quiet, but she could still tell it was her. She'd had too many dreams starring Amy with her vicious words than she'd care to admit.

Nyla froze, expecting to have more time before this happened. "Um… Hi. What's up?"

Amy sighed. Why did things have to get so awkward? _Oh yeah because I was a bitch to her and we still haven't made up. _"Come down to my house right now. It's really important and I know you'll want to see this. I wouldn't call if I didn't think it was worth it."

Nyla bit her lip the nodded. She realized that Amy couldn't see her nod, so she cleared her throat. "Yeah I'll- I'll be there in a minute." She hung up, but didn't feel like changing out of her pjs, just grabbing her tan new purse. She had filled it with all her necessities, like credit cards, car keys, and ID. She had just turned 21 a few weeks prior, so she made sure she always had her ID with her now. Not that being able to drink really made a difference since she didn't have anyone to drink with.

She drove over to Amy's house and took a deep breath before getting out, going over to where Amy was standing. "Hey. What did you want me here for?"

Amy nodded to her garden. "He's back."

It went without saying who Amy was talking about. "What?" Nyla's eyebrows shot up and she sprinted into the backyard. There it was. The blue police box that she had been waiting for, for two years! She finally noticed the figure leaning against the box and realized it was the Doctor. She ran up to him, and the Doctor- who had been expecting a hug- got a slap instead!

"That was for leaving me for two years! How long does it take to go to the fricking moon and back?"

The Doctor raised his hands in the universal 'I surrender' pose, before rubbing his cheek. "Sorry Sorry! I honestly didn't know I was gone th-wait two _years?!_" he shook his head in denial. "No. No way. I was not gone that long… but blimey you have a hard slap on you." He began to rub his cheek again, trying to ease the sting.

Nyla sighed and crossed her arms. "Yeah well you were. I-" Nyla immediately cut herself off when Amy came over to them.

The Doctor noticed and frowned. _What happened between them?_

"So you kept the clothes."

"Well, I just saved the world. The whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me. I kept the clothes." He rolled his eyes.

Amy shook her head. "But that was two _years_ ago!"

Nyla glanced at Amy quickly, "I already told him."

He smiled sadly. "Two years for you, 5 minutes for me."

"So are you from another planet or the future?" Amy questioned.

"To you I'm an alien."

"So you're from another planet then?" Amy shook her head, "Sorry it's just hard to digest."

"Yeah…" he trailed off then looked at the two girls in front of him. "So what do you think?"

Nyla's brow furrowed. "Of what?"

"Other planets. Want to check some out?"

Nyla's heart skipped a beat while Amy just tilted her head.

"What does that mean?"

Nyla gave her first smile to Amy in two years, shocking her. "It means he wants us to go with him."

Amy shook her head. "No."

The Doctor looked at her curiously, while Nyla stared at her in surprise.

"You wanted to come 14 years ago!" The Doctor objected.

"Yeah well I grew up." The Doctor didn't miss the glance that Amy gave Nyla. Something was going on between the two and he needed to figure out what.

"Yeah well I'll soon fix that." He tapped the Tardis door to let them in, with Amy leading the way, but before Nyla walked in she stopped to talk to him.

"Why don't we go get Rory?"

"Why do you want Rory to come with us?" He stared at her in shock. _Why would she want Rory? He's so…. Normal!_

"He's my closest friend and has been for the past two years. I can tell him anything and it would be nice to have someone on board I can talk to…" She trailed off seeing exactly where this conversation was headed. She knew that if the conversation went this route than she would say something she didn't want to say to him and she did _not_ want that. She tried to make up an excuse that was actually plausible. "Plus he and Amy are together! If you landed wrong again, she would be missing for months and he wouldn't know why!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Nyla I don't really think that their relationship is something you should be worrying about. Especially if things between you and Amy are rocky. If Amy wants Rory to come than she can ask, but until then, it's just us."

Not being able to think of another excuse for asking Rory to come along, Nyla huffed and walked past him into the Tardis. It would have been nice having her only friend around. Still she knew she needed to talk to Amy if they were going to last a single trip to another planet, and by Rory not being there it increased the need to talk. Grabbing Amy's elbow as she walked by she dragged her into the hallway and kept walking, planning to get out of ear range of the Doctor. If her relationship with Amy got worse, she really didn't want the Doctor to know right away.

As they walked down the hallway both of them were praying that this would go well, however neither even knew where to start.


End file.
